Just as every UCLA fan most feared, it seems USC may be exactly as good as suspected.

The Trojans were better than that Saturday in their much ballyhooed showdown with Ohio State.

They were completely dominant. Best team on the field, and certainly for now, in the country. New guys, same impressive results. Same overpowering performance in a big game.

There was some uncertainty at getting too worked up over that season-opening victory in Virginia, it being just one game and all and the Cavaliers being something less than a top-level opponent.

But the Buckeyes have one of the most respected programs in the country, had been to the national championship game the past two consecutive years and were ranked No. 5 in the country. And were pushed around like Youngstown State.

The Trojans so thoroughly manhandled the Buckeyes, you almost started feeling sorry for them. Beat them 35-3 and it could have been worse. The Buckeyes looked a tad slow, a tad shy in the superstar talent department.

Which just goes to show, you can put a sweater vest on a pig but it’s still a too-slow Big Ten team.

With No. 2 Georgia struggling to win 14-7 at South Carolina on Saturday, for as much as can be determined three weeks into the young season, the Trojans appear completely deserving of the No. 1 ranking.

So sorry, Bruins.

Though the road remains long and filled with potential pitfalls, Saturday’s victory gave the USC a clear path to the title game this year at the Orange Bowl. The Trojans went on the road in their season opener, and won 52-7. Took on unbeaten Buckeyes, and sent them back to Ohio with their Midwest tails between their legs.

Hey, Ohio, you’ll always have the Wright Brothers.

USC was coming off a bye week. History says, with one notable Rose Bowl exception, when you give Pete Carroll and his staff extra time to prepare, the Trojans will perform at peak level.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing when we do that,” Carroll said. “That’s our standard. This is what we’re capable of. We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary.”

Which is nothing but bad news for the rest of the Pacific-10 Conference. Worse news, USC remains a fairly young team, capable of much growth in the coming weeks.

The USC faithful, of course, will now officially enter their obnoxious mode. When the Trojans look earmarked for greatness, their fans go from haughty to unbearable. Trojan Nation will now swell like a blowfish. Little cardinal and gold happy feet everywhere.

Something to do with a couple of recent national championships, six consecutive top four finishes in The Associated Press poll, and now this. Another Carroll edition that appears a lot like his past USC editions. Out with the old juggernaut, in with the new juggernaut.

New quarterback Mark Sanchez looks a comfortable heir apparent to the Carson Palmer-Matt Leinart run. Joe McKnight looks like the next great tailback. The new offensive line looks like it rolled out of a factory.

The Buckeyes came in with one of the most renowned defensive squads in the country and were left with tongues hanging. The Trojans tacked up 348 yards, 21 first downs, and if they didn’t score at will, it seemed like it.

“They had the best defense in America last year and have all their guys back,” Carroll said. “And we just held up. There was some great planning by our guys.”

USC scored all of its 35 points by the third quarter and then started emptying its bench. “This worked out beautifully for us,” Carroll said.

Ohio State returned 20 starters, but looked rattled and intent on self-destructing.

First-and-goal at the USC 5-yard line became consecutive 4-yard losses, a motion penalty and a field goal. And USC trailed for the first time this season. Such fear.

After Sanchez threw a 35-yard TD strike to fullback Stan Havili and a 1-yard scoring strike to true freshman tight end Blake Ayles for a 14-3 lead, Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman threw a 21-yard touchdown pass – only for it to be nullified on a holding penalty.

On their next series, USC linebacker Rey Maualuga stepped in front of a Boeckman pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown.

It was 21-3 at the half, and Ohio State had peaked.

“We played a great team tonight,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

In the third quarter, the proud Buckeyes wilted under constant USC pressure. USC’s confidence swelled by the series, Ohio State’s dropped off into an identity crisis.

USC had 135 yards in the third quarter; Ohio State two.

Sanchez threw two more touchdown passes, both to Damian Williams, and the much-hyped showdown between vaunted programs was an official rout.

Ohio State played without leading rusher Beanie Wells – or was that Boobie Miles? – not that it could have made much difference. USC’s defense lived up to its buildup, Ohio State’s did not.

“We practiced so well, this was the outcome we thought would happen,” Carroll said. “Unless we didn’t know what we were talking about.”

They did, of course, which much more often than not, Carroll’s teams do.

The Trojans are no longer untested. Not so uncertain.

For now, they appear very much the No. 1 team they’re supposed to be. And water-cooler warning: safe to say USC fans might notice.

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